Tough Cases
by CJS-DEPPendent
Summary: It's one of those cases that really gets to all the team members. Sara and Grissom's realtionship takes a negative turn. Will Gil be able to turn it around before it's too late? Please Read and Review. Enjoy.


_**Disclaimer: **CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and all it's charachters are the property of CBS. I own nothing but this particular story line and the mistakes._

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**TOUGH CASES**

It had been a particularly rough case and by the time all the evidence was bagged and all the 5 bodies had been taken to the morgue, Gil Grissom and his team of CSIs were just about ready to call it a day; or night.

These cases always took a toll on the members of the Las Vegas CSI Graveyard shift team. The fact that children were involved made things tough for Catherine Willows and Warrick Brown. The signs of both child and domestic violence and abuse sent Sara Sidle and Nick stokes into obsessive mind sets which ended only once the perp was behind bars. As for the Supervisor, Gil Grissom, he tried his best to keep objective about all cases, though some were harder than others.

"I want this SOB." Said Warrick to no one in particular as he, Nick and Catherine loaded their kits and the collected evidence into their Tahoe.

Agreeing, Catherine nodded as she stepped into the passenger seat next to an irritated and silent Nick. As they drove off, the only team members left behind were the Supervisor Gil Grissom, CSI3 Sara Sidle and Captain Jim Brass as well as some uniformed officers who were busy surrounding the premises with 'CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS' tape.

"I hate these cases" Said Sara as she walked over to the black Tahoe with her supervisor.

Gil didn't need reminding. It hadn't been too long since he'd sat in the brunette's apartment and heard the story of her father's murder by her mother which ultimately led to her spending her youth from foster home to foster home. He hated it when cases became emotional to his team because they lost their objectivity and that compromised the way the evidence was processed. He'd been accused of being cold, even called a robot by one of his own CSIs, but at times like these, he found it easier not to feel.

"I know…it's a tough one." He agreed loading his kit into the back of the Tahoe and joining her at the side of the car looking at the large, now, uninhabited house.

There was a certain calm in the air.

"Why do people do this to each other?" She asked sighing.

All he could do was shrug. Normally, he'd have quoted some dead author. But right now, for some reason, he knew Sara didn't need to hear it. Of all his CSIs, he knew this case would be toughest on Sara. She'd been in the position of those children, her mother had suffered the same as the woman who's body was being driven off in an ambulance, and her father had met the same fate as the man who'd collapsed in the living room of his own home with knife in his heart.

Looking sideways at her, he saw a silent tear tumble down her pale cheek and the boss within him was gone. It happened whenever Sara did anything that showed her as a human rather than just another co-worker. It was getting harder to ignore the feeling in his gut. Slowly, he stepped closer to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder; like he'd do to a friend or a family member of a victim. Wiping away the tear, she thanked him. Little did she know, he thought, how much more he wanted to do.

"You ok?" He asked.

"Yea…fine…" She always did this, put on a strong face when she knew (as did everyone else) that she wasn't fine.

Trying to get to her seat, she passed by Grissom -who's hand fell from her shoulder to his side- and was abruptly stopped by his other hand on her wrist.

"Hey…if you don't want this case…it's fine…" He said in the most sympathetic, human voice he could master.

"I'll be fine." She said forcing a smile and looking up at him after brushing way another tear.

Her brain was telling her feet to move but her feet weren't responding. _Those eyes_ she thought looking into his sapphire blue eyes. Why couldn't he just make the move she knew he was dying to? Why couldn't he just admit that he wanted her as much as she wanted him? _Damnit!_

They were being drawn closer by some force stronger than any they'd learnt about in all the physics lessons and forensic journals. There was no stopping this one. Without ever commanding them, both their feet seemed to be closing the space between them and they were too lost in each other's gaze to notice.

When he realised what was happening, Grissom's brain sent warning signals throughout all of his body. _Shit! _he thought. This was not the right time or place. On top of that, there were so many things standing in the way of what was about to happen that he couldn't clear his mind of them. He was the boss. She was the employee. There were 15 years difference between them. It was unethical. There were departmental policies against it. Ecklie would have a field day.

"I…um…" He said immediately breaking the mood that had settled "We can't do this, Sara." He cursed his reasoning for speaking louder than his heart.

She didn't answer, just stepped back and nodded quickly before walking to the passenger side of the car and entering. With a heavy sigh, Grissom did the same. This day was beginning to really suck.

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The drive was silent. Neither knew what to say. It was going to happen, they were finally going to get their feelings out in the open. But he was Grissom and that meant that nothing was as simple as it should be. Something as simple as pure love between a man a woman became complicated as soon as Gil Grissom was involved. He over analysed everything. He never acted on impulse and his constant belief in objectivity meant no emotions were ever admitted to no matter how painfully obvious they were to others.

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"Hey, Greg." Called Sara as she entered the CSI building ahead of Grissom.

The young lab rat looked up at her as he turned from his rout back to the lab.

"Hay Sara. Grissom." He nodded at his boss as he past by, silently, Grissom held a hand up and headed back to his office.

"That was cold…even for Griss. What bit him?" He asked Sara as she handed him some evidence she'd collected.

Avoiding the question, Sara said "process these, get the results to me ASAP." That said, she walked off into the locker room.

_Something's going on here_ thought Greg as he looked from the locker room to the supervisor's office where a light had just gone on.

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Hours later, the evidence started to make sense. There was a boyfriend who'd skipped town making him look guilty of the deaths of his girlfriend, her ex-husband and their three children (13, 8 and 3). Semen samples from the bed sheets in the mother's room showed that the mother-father relationship had been rekindled and that gave the boyfriend a motive. So far, it seemed that the only prints in the house, not belonging to the family, were of said boyfriend -36 year old Owen Michaels- and the 13 year girl's boyfriend -14 year old Jake Foster, who had an alibi.

There wasn't a member of the team that didn't believe the guy was guilty and when he was finally found having dinner in a shabby diner on the side of the inter-state highway, things started to look even grimmer for him. A 25. automatic was found beneath the seat of his pick-up truck who's tires matched the tracks found at the scene. Later investigations proved the bullets to be a match to those lodged in the 3 year old boy's skull, the 8 year old boy's abdomen, the 13 year old girl's chest and the mother's throat. Once the car had been taken apart, a 7 inch knife was found stuffed between the two back seats with blood matching the father; the only member of the family who'd been stabbed.

When Owen was questioned by Brass, Sara was forbidden of being in the room, as were Nick and Warrick since all of them seemed ready to slice the sorry bastard's throat with whatever object they had at hand. Instead, Grissom and Catherine were in the room. Brass sitting opposite the suspect, Catherine next to him and Grissom half sitting, half leaning on the sill of the one-way mirror behind which Sara, Nick and Warrick were looking.

"Would you state your name for the record please?" Asked Brass.

"Owen James Michaels." He said.

"Do you fully understand your rights?"

"I do."

"And you have waved your right to having an attorney present?"

"Yes."

"Alright." Began Brass in his typical, sarcastic yet friendly tone "would you care to explain this?" He asked placing the photos of the bloody knife and gun in front of him.

"I've never seen those before in my life." He stated looking away from the images.

"Oh really? Because these were found in your truck. This is your truck right?" He asked showing him a picture of the vehicle.

"Yes it is, but…"

"It's your truck but yet you claim not to know of the existence of these objects." He looked sceptical. "Where were you tonight around 11 pm?"

"I was at home."

"Can anyone corroborate that?" Asked Brass opening his notepad.

"No. I live alone."

"You didn't order pizza, or happen to chat with a neighbour?"

"No." These short answers weren't getting them anywhere.

"Mr. Michaels, your prints were found on the trigger of the gun and on the knife."

"I don't know anything about that." Said the man looking around at the other two silent observers.

"Have you fired a gun within the last 24 hours?" Asked Grissom standing up straight and walking up to the table where he showed the man some lab results.

"No."

"Really? Because this sheet tells me that there was gun shot residue on your hands and clothing. This only happens when you've either fired a gun or been at the scene of gun fire."

Owen merely shoved the paper towards Grissom.

"I told you I've never seen these weapons before in my life."

Brass spoke again "Are you saying then, that these are not the weapons you used to murder your girlfriend Patricia Miller, her ex-husband and their three children?"

Finally Owen's face seemed to give in. He was cornered. He hadn't planned things out properly, he'd acted in the heat of the moment and now, mere hours later, he was going to jail for a very long time.

"Have you ever loved someone more than you ever thought possible?" He asked looking from Catherine to Brass to Grissom.

Behind the mirror, Sara saw Grissom shift his face uncomfortably.

"Well, that was Pat for me. We made each other happy. She'd never been happy with that smart-ass son of a bitch. He hit her and the kids when he got drunk. Hell, she still had marks on her body from the beatings. He was bad for all of them.

Then the other day, I walk into the room we'd shared for 6 months to find another man's socks on the floor. She tried to pass it off saying it was one of her son's. But what 8 year old wears size 11 shoes?" He asked "No." He chuckled humourlessly "I just knew she was cheating on me. So tonight, I waited around to see who the jack ass she was screwing me over with was. Can you imagine my surprise when I see Sam walk into the house?" He looked around disgusted. "I couldn't take it."

"What happened next?" Asked Brass as he took notes.

"I always carried the 25. automatic in the car for safety."

Brass and the two CSIs traded curious looks as did the three behind the one-way.

"And the knife I had around from my last Scuba Diving trip. So I took them both and went inside. It was pretty easy, barely any struggle."

"So you are confessing to the murder of a 40 year old woman, a 43 year old man and their three children?" Asked Brass surprised.

"Yea. You guys already knew anyways."

Brass motioned for the cop who'd been standing by the door to arrest Owen.

"Owen Michaels, you are under arrest for the murder of 43 year old Samuel Miller, 40 year old Patricia Miller, 13 year old Hailey Miller, 8 year old Ryan Miller and 3 year old Cody Miller."

Silently, the man allowed himself to be cuffed and as he was escorted out the door, he turned back to the three people standing by the table.

"I just loved her. I loved her too much to loose her."

"If you really loved her, you'd have given her what she wanted; you'd have wanted her to be happy. This way, she's not happy, and you lost her anyway." Brass and Catherine looked surprised at Grissom as he watched the suspect be escorted out by a uniformed officer.

From behind the one-way glass, Sara was the last to leave the small room. If he wanted _her_ to by happy, why didn't he just _make_ her happy?

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"That son of a bitch is going to end up one the bad end of a cold needle." Said Nick holding up his coffee mug for a toast.

The mood in the break room was one of celebration. They'd caught the murderer. In a case that had been so tough on them all, they'd got the bastard and made justice for the family; more importantly, for the children.

"You know, I can kinda feel sorry for the guy. I mean, he gets himself a girlfriend, everything is perfect, and then she screws him over with a sorry SOB who used to hit her and her children?" Said Warrick.

"Well, true, the father was no good. But how much better was this guy if he was ready to commit murder?" Asked Catherine.

"He committed murder because he loved her and couldn't bare to loose her." Said Sara.

Some how this seemed to have become a discussion about the moral values of murderer's vs abusers.

"if he loved her as much as he said he did, he'd want her to be happy." Grissom pointed out.

"Yea, we've heard that before." She said pointedly, talking to him for the first time since the incidence at the crime scene.

"Well its true isn't it? If you love someone you'll do anything to make them happy."

"Will you?" Asked Sara and the whole room seemed to freeze as the on-lookers realized that the conversation had suddenly become exclusively between the boss and the brunette.

Grissom moved his lips as if to speak but instead showed an expression of great discomfort.

"If he loved her as much as he says he did. Yea, he'd want her happiness. But what happiness did he bring her killing her kids? And the man she apparently loved?" She asked sounding annoyed.

"He didn't want her to go through everything again."

"It was her choice! She wasn't weak. She knew what she was getting herself into!" Sara practically shouted.

"I'm not defending this guy…" But Grissom didn't get to finish his sentence as Sara stormed out of the room. Sighing heavily, he followed, not once looking at the stunned faces around him.

"Wow…" Said Greg breaking the silence.

"Yea…anyone else get the feeling that it wasn't just Patricia Miller who had a choice to make about men?" Asked Catherine.

"Yea…" Nodded Nick.

"What the hell is going on between those two?" Asked Warrick looking out the glass wall to see Grissom standing outside the locker room where Sara fled to.

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"Sara…"

Nothing.

"Sara!" He called louder. When she didn't answer again, he entered the dimly lit room.

She was standing in front of her open locker. The door was open and she was leaning, her hands on the neighbouring lockers, her head tilted into hers.

"Sara…"

"Just…Go away, Grissom." She sounded determined, but he wasn't going to go. This had gone far enough and one way or another, they were going to settle it.

"Sara. Talk to me."

She pulled her head out of the locker and looked straight at him. He could tell she was close to crying.

"What? What do you want me to talk about Grissom? How I moved to Vegas for you? Or how I enjoyed the jealousy my dating Hank caused you? Or how it hurt when you declined going out with me? Or how much I wanted to kiss you when you pinned me against that sheet? Or how I just knew why you refused to let me into the house on the Debbie Marlin case? Or how your presence helped me get over my almost DUI? Or maybe you want to talk about how you're the first person I've ever trusted with my past and my family problems." As she named each incident she counted them out on her fingers for emphasis "Which is it Grissom?"

_Wow_ thought Grissom as he blinked repeatedly. That was not what he'd expected.

"I…" He couldn't think of the right words to say.

"You don't get it do you? I've all but spelt things out for you. But you just don't listen! Your oblivious to everything around you."

"I…" He began again.

"You what Grissom?" A tear tumbled down her cheek and this time he couldn't console her; he was the reason she was crying.

"I've told you. I don't know what to do about this."

"How hard can it be?!" She said raising her voice.

"Sara. I'm your boss. It's complicated there are rules to be taken into account, there are ethics and…for god's sake, your 15 years younger than me!" It sounded to her like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince her.

"You know what? I don't care. About any of it"

With that, she shut the door to her locker and headed towards the door. She'd have to pass right by him and she was controlling every muscle in her body not to break down until she was well clear of him.

"Damn it, Sara!" He shouted as she passed by him without even looking his way.

"What?" She turned on her heals right as she got ready to open the door.

He _had_ decided they were going to settle things one way or the other. Well, as far as he was concerned, there was only one way it could be settled. And if he didn't act now, that possibility would be lost, maybe forever.

So, grabbing her wrist like he had mere hours earlier, he drew her towards him and, taking in the surprise and relief on her face, pulled her into a long, passionate yet gentle kiss. It blew both their minds. Nothing they could have imagined in their wildest dreams compared to the actual thing. And now that they'd finally gotten there, neither seemed ready to let go; literally.

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In the break room, the team's chatter was broken by a shout of "Damn it, Sara" and they all looked towards the locker room door where, through the glass on the windows, they saw what they'd known would happen from the moment they'd seen Grissom and Sara in the same room. No matter how awquard it might be to watch their boss kiss their co-worker, every single team member was smiling.

"Well…" Said Catherine "…he finally lifted his head out of the microscope."

Everyone laughed, glad that those two were finally getting what they'd wanted for years.

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Thank you for reading. **_PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! _**Thanks.


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